SEPTEMBER 2003

Ad Hoc Committee on Advisory Council Representation

Tim Rynott, APRC II Chairman

The Advisory Council Proportional Representation Committee II (APRC II), formed in June of this year, is an outgrowth of the 2002/2003 ad hoc Advisory Council Proportional Representation Committee (APRC I). APRC II Committee members include: Chair Tim Rynott, Vice-chair Don Lewis (Pacific), Sandi Barber (Gulf Coast), Will Green (Southwest), Paul Hoffman (Gulf Coast), Jean Lemmon (Mid-Con), and Peter Lloyd (Mid-East).

The specific charge of APRC II is to evaluate whether the sections of the AAPG are fairly represented by the current design of the AC, particularly in regards to two of its primary functions – forwarding a "short list" of nominees for officer candidates and awardees to the Executive Committee (EC). Its charge also includes presenting to the House recommendations on AC revisions, based upon its evaluation.

In 1998, the 15 member "Resolution Committee" (chaired by Dan Smith) intensely studied this issue. Their final recommendation for the reformulated AC, forwarded with 14 yeas and one abstention, was debated and passed on the House floor. Now that the reformulated AC has been "tested" for four years, concerns have been raised that further modification is needed in regards to fair and equitable representation.

The History of APRC I

During the June 2001 HoD Annual Meeting in Denver, Delegate Clint Moore introduced a resolution for an "Advisory Council Restructuring Bylaws Amendment" during "New Business". It was debated and defeated in a House vote. A more formal proposal was approved by the GCAGS Board of Directors at their annual meeting in October 2001 and was subsequently mailed to the EC members, AC members, and House officers. The following summer House Chairman Terry Hollrah formed an ad hoc committee, the "Advisory Council Proportional Representation Committee" (APRC I).

APRC I was charged with evaluating the pros and cons of the "GCAGS" proposal and to recommend at the next HoD meeting as to whether it should be endorsed, rejected, or modified. After a very lively internal and external debate, the committee ultimately voted 4-2 in favor of this proposal. (See Rich Green's report in the SEPT. 2003 Delegates' Voice.) However, in the House meeting this year, the APRC I report was only briefly mentioned under "New/Old Business", was not debated on the House floor, and was not forwarded to the Constitution and Bylaws Committee. The explanation for this included: 1. The committee had not been given sufficient time to thoroughly investigate all possible modifications; 2. It became apparent that such a controversial issue necessitated a broader scope of input, including advice from present and former House leadership, and present and former AC representatives; 3. The annual meeting agenda was already very loaded and the thought of another drawn out, exhausting annual meeting was undesirable; 4. The overriding opinion concurred that the recommendation would unlikely pass a house vote and more time was required to garner additional inter-sectional support.

The House officers, recognizing the importance of this issue, unanimously agreed a second committee should be formed for the next house cycle. It was later determined that this new committee would have no time restraints, and would also have the advantage of at least one member from APRC I, which is Will Green.

Goals of APRC II

APRC II recognizes the work accomplished by APRC I and the great deal of light it shed on the pros and cons of the current AC structure. ARPC II will augmen the prior committees' work by several actions, including:

1. Attempting to contact (or poll) as many present and former AC members as possible;

2. Thoroughly researching the recent voting record of the AC with respect to the distribution of nominees advanced to the EC for consideration as officer and awardees candidates.; and

3. Bringing a Resolution to the House floor in Dallas next year, depending upon the committee findings.

In closing, thanks go to Rich Green, Chairman of APRC I, and his committee members: Pete Gray, Will Green, Marty Hewitt, Clint Moore, and Jim Rogers. They provided a great service advancing this issue to its current state.